1,000 Miles in 2017 - Goal Update #7

Well, I made sure that the last day of September would not be forgotten. I ran and ran and ran. I ended up with my longest distance run and my longest time run. 15 miles in 2 hours 29 minutes. My previous best distance was 13.2 miles, so I improved that by 1.8 miles.

Current yearly stats:

Runs: 188
Distance: 806.92 miles
Total Time: 117h 55m 51s
Avg Distance Per Run: 4.29 miles
Total Calories: 110,877
Avg Speed: 6.8 mph
Avg Pace: 8:46 min/mile

Days Left in Year: 92
Miles Left in Year: 193.08 miles
Daily Average Needed: 2.10 miles

1,000 Miles in 2017 - Goal Update #6

Only 98 days left in 2017. The weather was humid and sunny this weekend, but I still got some good running in both days. My left hip bothered me some, but nothing too awful. I was able to run in the morning before temperatures and humidity reached danger levels. I weighed myself yesterday and today, and both times I was just below 160 pounds, which is the lowest I have been in many years. I'm going to keep at it. Getting closer to my 1,000 mile goal. 98 days is nothing...as long as the weather holds out.

Current yearly stats:

Runs: 184
Distance: 781.20 miles
Total Time: 113h 58m 22s
Avg Distance Per Run: 4.25 miles
Total Calories: 107,317
Avg Speed: 6.9 mph
Avg Pace: 8:45 min/mile

Days Left in Year: 98
Miles Left in Year: 218.80 miles
Daily Average Needed: 2.23 miles

1,000 Miles in 2017 - Goal Update #5

Running has been hard for me the last few days. I have to run in the afternoon, since the days are shorter and it is too dark to run in the morning before work. So, usually, with belly full of whatsit, I drag myself outside and try to run something while keeping all foodstuffs in my body cavities. At least I am under 250 miles to go. I'm over three-fourths of the way to 1,000 miles. I hope I can keep this old body together.

Current yearly stats:

Runs: 180
Distance: 760.22 miles
Total Time: 110h 48m 08s
Avg Distance Per Run: 4.22 miles
Total Calories: 104,428
Avg Speed: 6.9 mph
Avg Pace: 8:45 min/mile

Days Left in Year: 102
Miles Left in Year: 239.78 miles
Daily Average Needed: 2.35 miles

1,000 Miles in 2017 - Goal Update #4

It has been unseasonably hot and humid the last few days. So, that has led to some uncomfortable and sweaty afternoon runs. Oh well, at least I have some more miles under my belt. Tough to believe this month is half over. Time is flying.

Current yearly stats:

Runs: 175
Distance: 742.71 miles
Total Time: 108h 06m 19s
Avg Distance Per Run: 4.24 miles
Total Calories: 102,004
Avg Speed: 6.9 mph
Avg Pace: 8:44 min/mile

Days Left in Year: 107
Miles Left in Year: 257.29 miles
Daily Average Needed: 2.41 miles

The Orville - Meh Review

So, we watched the series premier of The Orville on Sunday. The only appropriate response is "meh." I wasn't blown away by any means. The show apparently cannot decide whether it wants to be a funny space romp (you can't really be called a comedy when you only have a joke every five minutes and the actual jokes are not funny) or a campy space homage to Star Trek: The Original Series and Next Generation.

I'm still going to give the show a chance. This was only the pilot. But, I am confused why the producers of The Orville did not go all-out for the series premier. In this day and age of social media, where viewers can give immediate feedback and lambaste a show within seconds of it ending on Twitter, Facebook, and blogs, you would think The Orville would bring its A-game with the first show. You can't leave your best jokes and best story lines for later in the year, because you might be cancelled next week.

If that pilot was their A-game, then this show is lost and that's too bad. The only two characters so far that show promise are Bortus (basically Worf) and Isaac (basically Spock). The others are all standard cookie cutter fare that could be swapped out with plants and you wouldn't know the difference.

I sincerely hope episode two is better. We'll see.

1,000 Miles in 2017 - Goal Update #3

It was surprisingly hot today in the afternoon, which is when I ran. Lots of sweat. Not very fast, though. But every step I can take today is one less step I need to take tomorrow.

Current yearly stats:

Runs: 172
Distance: 733.07 miles
Total Time: 106h 32m 15s
Avg Distance Per Run: 4.26 miles
Total Calories: 100,703
Avg Speed: 6.9 mph
Avg Pace: 8:43 min/mile

Days Left in Year: 111
Miles Left in Year: 266.93 miles
Daily Average Needed: 2.40 miles

11 Seconds Faster, New Half-Marathon PR

Yesterday was a beautiful day. The sun was out. The temperate was slightly cool. A nice wind. I knew it was a great day to be outside and run a longer race. I wanted to get some more mileage for my 1,000 mile goal in 2017. So, I decided to run 10 miles. But when I started to run, I felt pretty good overall and thought I should keep running as much as I could. The miles were piling up, and I was starting to think that this pace felt just like my previous half-marathon PR. Now, since I can barely remember anything these days, I couldn't remember what my half-marathon PR time was. I knew it was something around 1 hr and 50 min, but didn't know exactly. However, I could remember my pace. I knew it was 8:27 min/mile. So, I figured if I could keep each mile under that or close to it, I would have a shot at a new half-marathon PR.

This ended up being a hard race. At 6.55 miles (halfway point), I was just under 55 minutes, so I knew I was on pace to get near 1 hr and 50 min. I tried to keep running hard, but I could feel my strength ebbing. It was all I could do to keep my legs moving and try to ignore the pain. My left hip and left groin were on fire the entire last seven or eight miles. The bottom of my right foot was sore and raw. My right ankle was tender. I knew it was going to be close. I just had nothing left to give at the end. I wish I could have finished the race stronger. But, amazingly, I still got my PR. And even more amazingly, in a nearly 2 hour race, I only beat it by 11 seconds. I put the stats in the chart below so you can see how close my two half-marathons were to each other. Almost mirror images. It looks like miles 7, 8, 9, and 10 were what saved me. I was able to build up a time buffer just big enough to survive my body's fade at the end.

	July 31	July 31	Sept 9	Sept 9
Splits	Time	Total	Time	Total	Distance
1	8:08.0	08:08	8:09.2	08:09	1.00
2	7:59.1	16:07	7:58.6	16:08	1.00
3	8:07.0	24:14	8:14.1	24:22	1.00
4	8:14.6	32:29	8:11.6	32:34	1.00
5	8:23.5	40:52	8:21.7	40:55	1.00
6	8:33.6	49:26	8:32.1	49:27	1.00
7	8:41.3	58:07	8:38.0	58:05	1.00
8	8:39.2	1:06:46	8:30.4	1:06:36	1.00
9	8:47.1	1:15:33	8:33.0	1:15:09	1.00
10	8:52.9	1:24:26	8:34.1	1:23:43	1.00
11	8:46.0	1:33:12	8:42.1	1:32:25	1.00
12	8:47.6	1:42:00	8:52.9	1:41:18	1.00
13	8:07.9	1:50:08	8:36.6	1:49:54	1.00
14	0:37.3	1:50:45	0:39.7	1:50:34	0.10
Total	1:50:45	1:50:45	1:50:34	1:50:34	13.10 mi
	Avg. Pace: 8:27/mile		Avg. Pace: 8:26/mile

Running My Loop - A New Book Available on Amazon.com

I have a new running book available on Amazon.com in Kindle and Paperback.

Running My Loop: 31 Days of Unfiltered Thoughts and Observations While Pushing Myself for a Half-Marathon PR

Follow along with Manley as he runs every single day in July 2017 on a quest to beat his half-marathon PR on the last day of the month. Each day presents something new or unexpected as he navigates mental and physical challenges running around his gravel loop while avoiding steaming piles of bear poop and flocks of turkeys in rural Wisconsin.

1,000 Miles in 2017 - Goal Update #2

Yesterday was a hard, hard run. Why? Well, it was in the afternoon, after work, and I had just eaten a big meal. So, I thought to myself, I better get out there and get some more miles. Well, I went out there all right, and it hurt like heck. I was so uncomfortable. Each step was an effort not to barf. But I'll tell you, I would have welcomed the barfing if it would have alleviated my queasiness. My stomach hurt, my lungs hurt, and my whole body just felt out of whack until I stopped. So, of course, today I did a similar thing. I ate a decently big meal in afternoon, but then I got smart. I actually waited an hour before heading outside to run. And, you know what? That was much better.

Current yearly stats:

Runs: 168
Distance: 710.66 miles
Total Time: 103h 13m 39s
Avg Distance Per Run: 4.23 miles
Total Calories: 97,627
Avg Speed: 6.9 mph
Avg Pace: 8:43 min/mile

Days Left in Year: 116
Miles Left in Year: 289.34 miles
Daily Average Needed: 2.49 miles

1,000 Miles in 2017 - Goal Update #1

I ran a 7 miler today in beautiful weather. The run started out kinda rough, though, and I wasn't sure how it was going to go. My left foot was hurting with each step and my left hamstring started to twinge off and on. But, I stuck with it, and somewhere around mile 4, my legs started to feel all better and refreshed. By the time 7 miles rolled around, I was still feeling good, but had to stop running due to other obligations. So, three days down. With 119 days left until the end of 2017, I have 302.04 miles remaining to get to my 1,000 mile goal. Still right on target.